William s



PatentedMay 21, 1895.

W. S*.,.GOBURN. RAILWAY SWITCH.

(No Model.)

4 9h26 www Y NITED STATES PATENT Ormea.A

OF ONE-FOURTH SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 539,575,dated May 21,1895.

Application nea october 15, 1894.

.To @ZZ whom it may-concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. COBURN, of Savannah, county of Chatham,State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailway-Switches, of

which the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to produce 1o an improved railway switchthat can be located at any portion of a railwaytrack, without thenecessity of tearing up or materially modifying the main track, andwithout the necessity of employing frogs, or like devices,

I5 which are more or less objectionable in practice.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is a top plan view'of my devicewith the switch set for allowing free travel along the main zo track.Fig. II is a similar view showing the switch set for shunting cars tothe side track.

Fig. III is a side elevation of a portion of the switch mechanism.,taken on asection-line 3 3 of the road-bed.

Referring to the figures on the drawings, 1 indicates the ordinary crossties of a railway road bed, upon which lmain track rails 2 are secured.

' 3 indicates an outside side track rail and 4 3o an inside or brokenside track rail.

5 indicates the switch rails, pivoted as indicated at 6, in any usualmanner to the cross ties. The switch rails are tapered at their freeends so as to form an unobstructing 3 5 guide to the fiangesof passingwheels and are shifted from the main track rails to the side trackrails, as by a pitman or connecting rod 7, pivoted as indicated at 8, tothe switch rails and pivoted, as indicated at 9,A to a crank 4o bearing10, on a rocking switch bar 11 that is pivotally mounted in boxes 12secured to the cross ties.

13 indicates a lever handle for operating the switch bar.

The foregoing mechanism is well known in the art and may be varied inmany respects in accordance with well known methods within the scope ofthe work that it has to do.

14 indicates ordinary guard rails which may 5o be employed, but are notessential to my invention. Coming now to that which consti- Serial No.525.930. (No model.)

in order to afford a more rigid support, but,

this is not essential. It is also provided with an inclined surface 21designed like the surface of the rail 18 to rise'gradually from thelevel of the side track rail 3 to that of the shifting rail 15.

22 indicates recesses in the faces of each of the elevated rail sections18 and 20, and serve to support the under side of the shifting railwhich is fiat and rests squarely upon them. Each of the elevated railsections is provided with a beveled shoulder 23 against which, when theshifting rail 15 is closed, its similarly beveled ends 24 respectivelyabut and form a close union. The shifting rail moves upon its pivot 17into the position across the topof the main track rail 2, as shown inFig. II, or parallel thereto, as shown in Fig. I. In the first position,by the aid of the elevated rail sections, it affords a smooth supportingsurface for the wheels of a train to pass across the main track railsupon the side track rails. Whenin the latter position it presents anunobstructed main track rail for the travel of the wheels of a trainthereon.

*The shifting rail, as above explained, is preferably supported betweenthe elevated rail sections, bothby the sections themselves and by themain track rail which the shifting rail crosses obliquely, the uppersurfaces of the recesses 22 of the elevated rail sections, and of themain track being on the same level.

For supporting the shifting rail when it is turned-parallel tothe maintrackrail, I provide a supporting block 25 secured to one ofl the crossties and having'its upper surface Hush with the top of the main trackrail against which it abuts.

For operating the shifting rail upon its pivot, I prefer to employa bar26 that is hori- IOO zontally pivoted at one end to a stop piece 27avertically pvoted to a lug 27 dependent from the bottom of the shiftingrail l5 and preferably integral therewith. The bar 26 is pivoted at theother end, as indicated at 28, to a crank bearing 29 on the switch bar11. By this means, the operation of the single lever 13 which isordinarily employed for 0perating a switch, the switch rail 15 andswitch rails 5 are simultaneously set in the proper correlativepositions. The piece 27a towhich the bar 26 is united, is preferablyalso employed as a stop piece, as suggested, to limit the pivotalmovement of the shifting rail 15, which it does by striking against theside of the main track rail.

I do not confine myself to the details of construction herein shown anddescribed, but reserve the right to modify and vary them at will withinthe scope of my invention.

In a rail-way switch, the combination with a main track rail and a sidetrack rail in the same horizontal plane andbroken at its intersectionwith the main track rail, beveled swells at the adjacent ends of theside track rail, a riding rail having beveled ends pivoted to the sidetrack rail and supported continuously by the side track rail and by themain track rail, an integral depending medial lug upon the riding rail,a cranked switch bar and riding rail ,actuating bar pivoted to the crankof the switch bar, anda depending stop piece vertically pivoted to thedepend` ing lug and horizontally pivoted to the riding rail actuatingbar, said stop piece being adapted to constitute a double pivotalconnection between the riding rail actuating bar and the riding rail andto constitute a stop for the latter and a supporting block abuttingagainst and flush with the top of the main track rail and adapted tosupport the free extremity of the side track rail,substan tially asspecified.

In testimony of al1 which I have hereunto subscribed my name.

VILLIAM S. COBURN.

lVitnesses:

JNO. C. Dnrrz, G. A. DURE.

